Sanitary cover for containers.



C. SHAW.

SANITARY COVER FOR CONTAINERS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. 1917.

Patented Deal 3, 1918.

QMAMWWM C HHRLE'S HHW CHARLES SHAW, 0F COUDERSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

SANITARY COVER FOR CONTAINERS.

Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

Application filed June 27, 1917. Serial No. 177,818.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES SHAW, a citizen of the United States, residing at Coudersport, in the county of Potter and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'Sanitary Covers for Containers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certaiiinew and useful improvements in means for closing or sealing cans or other containers for milk and the like, and the invention has for its primary object a very practical and efficient construction of device of 'this character which will be very sanitary in use and prevent the milk or other liquid from being contaminated in any way.

A further object of the invention is a device of this character embodying very few parts that may be very cheaply manufacture'd and easily applied or removed and not liable to get out of order and which may be very easily withdrawn whenever it is desired to pour out the whole or part of the contents of the can or container.

A still further ob ect of the invention is a sanitary cover of this character embodying a disk of pasteboard or fiber treated with oil, parafiin or other substance to make it impervious to the liquid, in combination sheet of preferably oiled paper that is designed to extend around the disk, and a spring clamping ring for holding the parts in place, the sheet of paper above mentioned effectively separating the contents of the can 7 or container from the disk and the spring and thereby assisting in maintaining the sanitary condition of the contents.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which a Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a milk can embodying the improvements of my invention,

with a Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22'0f Fig. 1, and Fig. -3 is a detail view of the disk employed.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following descri tion and designated in all of the views 0 the accompanying drawing by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the body portion of amilk can of conventional formexcept as hereinafter specified, it being understood that this is merely selected for the purposes of illustration, and that the invention is applicable for use in connection with other cans or containers generally. 2 designates the neck of the can and 3 the usual or conventional outwardly flared mouth thereof.

In carrying out my invention, the neck 2 is formed'with an interior groove 4 preferably rolled therein, and this groove is designed to receive a disk 5 snugly ,fitting therein and preferably formed of pasteboard or fiber treated with paraflin, oil or the like. In conjunction with the disk 5 I preferably use a protective sheet 6 preferably composed of oiled paper and of rectanular or other shape, said sheet being larger t an the disk and extending over the entire lower face of the latter and upward around the edge or margin thereof, as clearly illustrated in the drawing. a

In order to retain the disk and sheet in place I employ a split clamping ring 7 which is desi ed by its own inherent construction to spring out and hold itself within the groove 4 above the disk 5, and within the upwardly extending portions of the sheet 6, theclamping ring holding the parts securely in place as against accidental detachment, although it 1s so formed thatit may be very easily detached and the cover thereby removed whenever it is desired to unseal the container and pour out any part of the contents thereof.

One end of the ring is returned inwardly upon itself in a circumferential direction as indicated at 8, and terminates in' a substantially radial and inwardly projecting finger piece 9, and the other end of the ring proects inwardly in a radial direction tOJPI'O- duce a complemental' finger piece 10. It will,

" clamping ring 7 therefore, be understood that by gras ing these two finger pieces, and drawing t em together, one end will overlap-the other so that the ring will be contracted, and may thus be readlly inserted in place, and when released the ring will s ring out and hold itself in position as wel as the disk 5 an sheet 6 hereinbeforereferred to. 7/' a From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawing, the operation of my improved sanitar cover for milk cans or other containers Wil be apparent. In the practical use of the device, after the disk 5 is inserted through the mouth 3 into the with the protective sheet 6 extendin over the lower face of the disk and upward within the neck as best shown in Fig. 1, the is grasped and contracted and inserted 1n place and as soon as it is released it will expand into its normal shape and within the groove 4 and thereby hold the other arts, as well as itself, securely in osition. t is to be particularly noted (see ig. 2), that in the applied position of the ring 7, it assumes a closed or unbroken formation with the ends abutting one against the other. Hence, no s ace is ft Where the ends terminate, and t e rmg constitutes a groove 4 of the neck 2 of the can binder all the way around, and effectually precludes the posslbility of leakage.

I claim: 7

The combination with a container provid (1 with an internal groove, of a sealing de ice insertible within said groove, and an expansible split ring insertible in said groove above said sealing device, one end of said ring being returned inwardly upon itself in erential direction and havin its extremity turned inwardly in a radial dlrection to form a finger piece, and the other end of said ring bein turned inwardly in a radial direction to orm a complemental finger piece, the adjoining bends constituting the ends of the. ring and abutting in the expanded condition of the ring Whenplaced within the groove, for the purpose specified, and 'the two inwardly pro ecting fin er pieces being designed to be grasped where y one end of the rmg may overlap the other and the ring contracted for insertion within or extraction from the groove.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses. CHARLES SHAW. Witnesses:

R. R. LEWIS, R.,A. Knox. 

